Texas Equine Dentistry

Mitz v. Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners

IJ Client Carl Mitz

Independent and self-reliant Texans have been taking care of their horses for a long time without unnecessary government meddling. But bureaucrats in Austin have concocted a monopolistic licensing scheme to protect a cartel of veterinarians that puts Texas entrepreneurs out of work while forcing horse owners to pay more for lower-quality care.

The Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners is demanding that Texas equine dental practitioners spend up to $100,000 and four years at veterinary school, where they learn next to nothing about caring for horses' teeth, or else abandon their profession. This blatantly anti-competitive regulation serves the sole purpose of maximizing the incomes of largely untrained, unqualified, ill-equipped veterinarians at the expense of horse owners and Texas entrepreneurs. Read how the Vet Board has declared bureaucratic war on this small but vital group of entrepreneurs.

Horses' teeth grow constantly and thus occasionally need to be filed or "floated"-an important but painless procedure. Horse tooth care requires skill, experience and horsemanship, none of which are the exclusive purview of state-licensed veterinarians.

That is why on August 28, 2007, the Institute for Justice filed suit in Travis County District Court in Austin. On behalf of equine dental practitioners and Texas horse owners, IJ is challenging the licensing scheme as a violation of Texas law and the Texas Constitution.